The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU), in partnership with Ontario Health East and paramedics from both Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry and Prescott-Russell, is opening a temporary COVID-19 testing centre in the parking lot of the Calypso waterpark in Limoges. The drive-through testing centre, located just off highway 417 at 2015 Calypso Street, will open on Thursday, September 24^th and operate seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Testing will be open to everyone over one year old.

“We’re opening the temporary testing centre in Limoges to alleviate the demand at our other testing centres,” says Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, Medical Officer of Health at the EOHU. “The number of individuals coming to our testing centres over the last few weeks has far surpassed our capacity. This new centre will increase access to COVID-19 testing for our region’s residents and shorten wait times.”

The additional testing site will help the EOHU identify cases faster so it can quickly move to isolate them and follow up with their contacts. “As the number of COVID-19 cases across our region and the province increases, having the ability to quickly perform testing and contact tracing will help us once again flatten the curve,” adds Dr. Roumeliotis.

The temporary testing centre in Limoges is the seventh on the EOHU’s territory. If you have COVID-19 symptoms, head to EOHU.ca/coronavirus to find the location, hours and other details of the nearest testing centre.

EOHU changing priority population for testing

Due to the surge in testing volumes in the health unit’s area and across the province, the EOHU is now prioritizing the following populations for COVID-19 testing:

• Individuals with COVID-19 symptoms
• Individuals who have been referred by public health due to close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19
• Residents or workers in settings that have a COVID-19 outbreak, as identified and informed by their local public health unit
• Individuals who have been referred by a health care professional or need to get tested to meet Ministry guidelines (e.g. prior to a long-term care home visit)

For more information about COVID-19 testing, please consult EOHU.ca/coronavirus and Ontario’s website at covid-19.ontario.ca.